by Tim Froberg
HOW ENTREPRENEUR CARLA MANNS FINDS JOY IN BUSINESS
Whenever Allayah Manns has a dilemma, she uses an old-school approach that consistently delivers better answers than modern-day information technology tools like Google or AI.
She simply asks herself, “What would mom do?”
Mom is Carla Manns, a busy and successful Appleton entrepreneur who runs two businesses in the same downtown building at 207 W. College Ave.: a hair salon known as Shear Images by Carla on the second floor and Appleton Bundt House, a main floor bakery she opened in January.
“It (Appleton Bundt House) has been an amazing experience,” Carla said. “It’s gone better than I expected, better than I projected, better than I had budgeted for.”
Appleton Bundt House has a family feel. Allayah and her sister, Alexsis, both work with Carla at the bakery. Allayah is the manager and also rents a chair at Shear Images where she and Carla work with all hair types, but specialize in ethnic hair needs. Alexsis is the customer service supervisor/content creator for Appleton Bundt House.
“The three of us work really, really well together,” said Allayah. “My mom has always been the pillar of any success I’ve had. She has great ideas and clearly knows what she’s doing. Whenever we have ideas, she’s always open to listening to them and trying to incorporate them into the business. It’s like she’s old school, we’re new school, and it balances out really, really well.”
LEARNING CULINARY SKILLS AS A KID
Carla is exceptionally skilled with her hands, whether she’s clipping hair or creating decadent desserts. She has more than 20 years of experience as a hairstylist, and although she’s new to the baking business, she has years of experience whipping up tasty baked treats, including her specialty Bundt cakes. Carla learned to bake while growing up in Coldwater, Miss., a small town about 30 miles from Memphis, Tenn.
“I’ve always loved desserts — desserts and I always had a love relationship,” said Carla with a laugh. “I grew up in the South, and we had lots of family get-togethers. I would always go to the dessert table first and then to where the main food was because I wanted to make sure I had room for the desserts.
“My aunts were all beautiful cooks and bakers, and that’s where I learned to bake. And I made sure that I taught my kids how to cook and bake.”
Carla has always found baking to be soothing and relaxing. She has baked for her family for years and decided to jump on a business opportunity when the first-floor property previously used as a restaurant became available. Carla had previously dabbled in the baking world with cookies, selling them to a pair of local restaurants, but chose to focus on Allayah’s favorite baked treat: Bundt cakes.
“Sunday is always our family day,” Carla said. “We put everything down and just turn our attention to family. We take turns going where everyone wants to go to lunch. Allayah always wanted to go to Nothing Bundt Cakes in De Pere.
“After a while, I was like: ‘I know how to make Bundt cakes. Let me make you some.’ She was like, ‘Oh my gosh, they’re so good.’ I knew I always wanted something to do with that space downstairs, so when it became available, I was like: ‘We should do Bundt cakes.’ It was something Appleton didn’t already have and was in a great place in the hub of the downtown area.”
Appleton Bundt House offers freshly made-from-scratch Bundt cakes available in 12 flavors along with other sweet treats. Cakes are available in bite-size, single-serving, 8-inch (serves 8-10 people), 10-inch (serves 10-12), or larger tiered cakes. Cakes can be designed for special occasions such as weddings, birthdays, office celebrations, baby showers, gender reveals, anniversaries, religious occasions, and retirements.
Popular flavors at Appleton Bundt House include chocolate velvet (an early favorite that features three layers of chocolate), lemon love (a lemon cake with lemon cream frosting), pineapple upside down, German chocolate, red velvet, carrot cake, confetti delight, strawberry kiss (featuring chocolate with strawberry cream cheese frosting), peanut butter bliss (peanut butter cake swirled with peanut butter frosting), turtle (chocolate with caramel frosting and topped with toasted pecans), cookies and cream (chocolate with crushed cookies and creamy vanilla cookie frosting), and sweet potato.
Each cake on the menu has suggested drink pairings that match its flavor profile, including coffee, cold brew, lattes, matcha tea, water, milk, and Celsius.
FAMILY TIME AT WORK
“I have a love for baking — a love for creating something that makes people happy,” said Carla, who holds a bachelor’s degree in business from the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. “It’s great to be able to celebrate special occasions with our customers.”
What’s even more satisfying for Carla are the everyday moments she gets to spend at the bakery with her daughters and other family members. Her son, Elijah, also helps out at the bakery along with Carla’s husband, Bishop Gerald Manns, her mother, Lula Coleman, and her nephew, Rashad.
“It’s fun working with my daughters,” she said. “Right now they’re both single and don’t have any kids, so it gives me a chance to spend some quality time with them. It’s been really easy working with them. They want the same success I do, and we’ve always had a very open, honest relationship. I know that I can trust them and they will do the very best they can.”
Working two jobs can be tricky, but the three handle the challenge with ease and never seem to be running on fumes. Alexsis also owns her own art business, Art by Alexsis.
“You know it’s all about balance and making sure the customers in both entities feel very much appreciated and taken care of,” said Carla. “When I’m working upstairs, I focus on what I’m doing up there. When I’m downstairs, I focus on what I’m doing down there.
“The thing is that because I have a passion for both businesses, it doesn’t feel so much like work. Don’t get me wrong, it’s work, but it’s not stressful work. It’s joyous work. That makes it a lot easier.”
Allayah, who holds a master’s degree in higher education from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, added: “Honestly, we’re blessed with both businesses being in the same building. I think of it as I’m getting my cardio in running upstairs and downstairs to each business. But no, it really doesn’t feel like it’s too much.
“I think God put us in these situations for a reason. We’ve been thriving. Both businesses have been successful. As a matter of fact, they’re both growing. I don’t know how we’re doing it, but we’re doing it.”
THE THREE ENTREPRENEURS
Carla feels that it’s important for her daughters to follow her lead and be entrepreneurs.
“They’re not just my daughters, they’re fellow entrepreneurs,” said Carla. “I taught them how to be entrepreneurs, so we all have the business mindset to get things done. We’re all learning together about how to grow a business.”
Carla and her daughters have done that with their sublime baking skills and outgoing personalities. The vibe at Appleton Bundt House is friendly and welcoming. The business offers seating and tables for those who want to kick back and enjoy a warm drink and a delicious baked treat.
“We offer a warm, cozy atmosphere,” said Carla. “We’re very much a small, mom-and-pop-type shop where we get to know our customers and know their names. We offer free taste testing for wedding parties where the bride and groom can come in with whoever they want to bring, and that’s a lot of fun.
“Our neighbors across the street like Home Burger (Bar) and Gibson (Community Music Hall) have been amazing and very supportive, coming here to buy stuff for their crew. We patronize each other all the time.”
Appleton Bundt House has become a regular at the Downtown Appleton Farm Market and won first place during the Downtown Appleton Cultural Cuisine Walk for its sweet potato Bundt cake infused with warm spices.
When she’s not tending to her busy work schedule, Carla enjoys walking, playing pickleball, tending to her dog, Pluto (a Lhasa apso), and traveling with Gerald, a senior pastor at Appleton Sanctuary Outreach Ministries Inc. The couple has been married for 34 years.
“We’ve been to quite a few different countries and love traveling, but we also love just hanging at home with our kids and walking our little dog,” said Carla. “We still have family days on Sunday where we drop everything and family is the focus.”
This article was originally published in the September 2026 issue of Appleton Monthly Magazine.
